


When a Spider saves Winter

by Fandomie_Trash



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: :)), About how awful this is, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And Bucky dealing with Hydra, And forgiving Bucky, And the summary, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, But whatever, Dead May Parker (Spider-Man), Homeless Peter Parker, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Abuse, Peter Needs a Hug, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Random Updates, Short Chapters, Slow To Update, Spider-Man operates in Brooklyn, and the title, but with the team getting back together, first fanfic, im so sorry peter, im sorry, it will suck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-13 22:11:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16480700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandomie_Trash/pseuds/Fandomie_Trash
Summary: After the deaths of both his aunt and uncle, Peter was put into foster care. He receives his spider bite and is kicked out of his abusive household. Whilst living on the streets he meets a veteran hero who feels like a villain and needs help adjusting to the 21st century.- - -Truly terrible as it’s my first fic XD





	1. Chapter 1

Life, Peter decided, _sucked_

He thought this whilst being tackled by yet another masked dude who decided to harass a poor girl just trying to make her way home. It was raining, Peter hadn’t eaten anything more than scraps in about three days, everything hurt and (possibly the worst thing) he hadn’t experienced human touch in so long that he was almost enjoying feeling someone be close to him.

Almost he thought as the perp attempted to punch him. Peter shoved the man off him, jumped up and swiftly kicked the guy in the head and knocked him out. He frowned, glancing around the alley for something to tie the man up with.

~~Losing the web shooters really had been awful~~

Sighing, Peter unlatched the mans belt, tied his hands together and pulled him out onto the street so that some pedestrian would be able to call the cops on the guy. He hoped... the man _was_ wearing a balaclava, no one should have too much trouble identifying him as a bad guy.

It wasn’t like Peter could stick around to explain to the cops what had happened though. They had decided to take Spider-Man’s crimefighting as a personal insult and as such were out for his head. Or his hands in handcuffs...

Whatever, the metaphor still stood.

Peter stretched and groaned loudly at the pain that sparked through him from his shoulder. He should really be more careful with getting slammed about by bad guys...

He walked a few paces back into the alley and placed his fingers on the cold brick before hauling his tired body upwards.

—

It had been a few hours and Peter had taken off his suit and curled up in a doorway. It was freezing out and he’d yet to fall asleep, not wanting to experience the nightmares, taking to shivering and watching the cars go by.

He had no way of knowing the time but he guessed it was around four. Most people would be out of their houses by 8 on a weekday so he knew he had a little while before he’d have to move.

But he didn’t fancy sleep tonight and he wasn’t getting any warmer by sitting on the concrete. He got up and pulled on his backpack. It was slowly coming apart and he was sure he would soon need a new one although it wasn’t clear how he would manage that.

Peter started heading towards a nearby park, looking to enjoy his next few hours being off duty from Spider-Man.

_________________________________

 

It was cold outside on the balcony but Bucky didn’t mind. Anything was better than being inside, hearing Steve snoring softly in the room next door and knowing that he didn’t deserve the kindness he’d been shown.

 

God, everyone had just been so _kind._ One person (one!) had had an appropriate reaction and that was Stark but that was only for a moment and now he had given him a new arm, welcomed him into his home, got the government to forgive him for his crimes due to an “inability to control his own actions” and forgiven Bucky for _murdering his parents_.

 And it really seemed like everyone was just going to ignore what he did in favour of believing that Bucky is a good person and the Winter Solider was a completely separate identity that had no relation to the man from the 30s who took girls dancing, saved a skinny kid from back alley fights and  ~~hid his sexuality from his best friend~~ ~~~~dragged Steve along to science conventions.

He’d woken up from HYDRAs brainwashing in a new world with two people in his head and a body covered in scars to constantly remind him of who he belonged to. 

Brooklyn wasn’t the same; the buildings were too tall, the people were too loud. Steve wasn’t the same; he was stronger, didn’t need Buckys help  _or_ protection, he  _was the leader of a team of superheroes._

Bucky wasn’t the same either. He doubted that he ever would be. He knew that he was dealing with PTSD, depression, anxiety and a host of other things that Starks  _fancy, expensive_ therapist had diagnosed him with but he didn’t need all the talking and feelings to know that he was fucked-up. Everything about his life felt fucked-up. Shove a whole new world to try to understand on top and you had the tip of the ice burg that was why Bucky was sitting on the balcony in the freezing cold as it began to rain and 3am.

He briefly entertained the thought of how great it would’ve been to have not fallen off that train but that idea was brushed to the side. He didn’t need Steve coming out if he started crying. 

The future wasn’t as great as he had envisioned it to be all those years ago. There were no flying cars, war, poverty, social divide, sexism, racism,  _homophobia_  were all still issues although Nat had said something about a pride month...

He didn’t know how to talk to Steve about any of this because he still looked up to him and Bucky couldn’t, wouldn’t, deal with that idea. Captin America looking up to a monster. Ha. Steve saw him as Bucky, his best friend, with-him-till-the-end-of-the-line, save-him-from-fights Bucky but that version of himself felt so distant and shattered that he wasn’t sure how to put back the pieces. 

He didn’t know how to do anything anymore. Besides fighting, he was completely useless and he didn’t even have it in him to fight anymore. He felt useless and unworthy. 

_Dont need a therapist to tell me that, Stark._

_________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man... I’m so sorry Bucky *hugs*
> 
> \- -
> 
> This is my first Fanfiction :)  
> So...  
> Thoughts?  
> Suggestions?  
> Hate?  
> Mistakes?  
> Leave it in the comments!  
> Thanks <3


	2. Chapter 2

Steve was dragging him along to  _another_ Avengers meeting in Manhattan. He didn’t know why they’d even bothered to move to Brooklyn if they kept leaving g every fortnight. Stark provides beds, food, clothes and anything else you might need.  

Besides, the meeting aren’t useful or even interesting. Stark and Steve are uncomfortable around each other. Neither of them want to break the group but neither of them want the other  _in_ the group. Some of Bucky’s guilt stems from here, that it’s his fault that the teams so divided. 

Steve assures him that he’s not to blame but if not him, who?

He was the one who barley knew any of the Avengers and who most of them avoided;

-Hawkeye was still and about the time he started shooting the vents ‘cause he heard something moving around up there (it was Barton)

-Scarlett Witch seemed to sympathise with him smiling softly at him but avoided him like the plague. When she saw him she was reminded of her own past

-Banner seemed to hide from most people, favouring his office and attempting to avoid getting angry

-Vision only hung around The Witch. 

-Nat was civil with him but seemed to see too much of herself in him. A tortured soul who’s only perpose for many years was murder. A brainwashed assassin with the most deadly arsenal possible, themselves 

-Stark seemed distracted and distant. He was looking for someone but Bucky wasn’t sure who and the rest of the team kept their distance from the topic

-Wilson was... odd. He seemed annoyed by everyone but was also happy to do free therapy sessions over breakfast if someone had had a particularly bad nights sleep

-and then there were the occasional drop ins from T’Challa and that Wizard Doctor guy

-and finally there were the people he’d only been told about; the asgardians Thor and Loki and the Galaxy Guards or something. 

So, only three people liked him enough to have a real conversation but Nat freaked him out ‘cause she was like everyone from HYDRA, Wilson annoyed him and Steve...  _Steve_

He didn’t want to think about Steve.  

He really just wanted to get away from all of these people.

Bucky just couldn’t relax, he was uncomfortable and just couldn’t deal with anyone today.

He got up to leave

And then he was on a bus going somewhere else, desperately trying to ignore the other humans near him.   ________________________________

 “Oi! Kid! Don’t you dare run from me!”

Peter races away from the store owner, dashing into a nearby alley. He’d grabbed a chicken sandwich but it wouldn’t do. He’d had barely enough food to last a regular human let alone someone with his metabolism... He really did try not to steal but if he didn’t eat he was going to pass out or get himself killed as Spider-Man. 

That didn’t stop him being guilty for his robbery no matter how small it was. 

He would make a point to keep near the shop and help out as Spidey if he could. 

God, he was so desperate that he actually missed Aunt May’s meat loaf. He knew she would’ve made sure he was eating full meals. He knew Uncle Ben would’ve whipped up some cheese on toast. When he was younger, he hated that but right now, it would be heavenly. 

Beyond their cooking, Peter missed how much they cared about him. They _always_ made sure he was alright, they _always_ cared when he was feeling sad, they _always_ had great advice to give just when he needed it. 

They were _always_ there.

Until they weren’t.

He felt a few tears run down his face but wipes them away and pushed aside his emotions, desperately ignoring his thoughts.

Peter opened his sandwich and greedily snatched it up and shoved it into his mouth. He immediately regretted this when he started coughing and choking on the dry bread. 

“You good there, kid?”

Peter jumed about three miles high and promptly fell over. 

“Owwww, _Not_ okay...” Peter groaned and took the hand that was stretched out towards him. 

He was yanked up and took a moment to brush himself down before taking a look at the man who had helped him and

 _JeSUs ChRIst! Look at the size of him! What kind of veg is he_ eating _?_

Peter was a small guy. Most people found it easy to be taller than him but this guy was in a whole different ball park. His muscles probably had muscles. 

Even with Peter’s athletic lifestyle, he’d never managed to get properly muscled, always staying the same lean, skinny kid but he never felt this more than when he was standing in front of this 6foot guy with a metal arm. 

_IS THAT A METAL ARM!? That’s so cool! __________________________________

The bus had stopped and Bucky had no clue where he was. He didn’t even remember the journey, just the need to get out of the Tower. 

He got off the bus trying not to think about his lost time. ~~It often meant that he was falling back into the Winter Solider...~~

 ~~~~Instead he started walking. It was a sunny day, nice and warm and it would be good to stretch his legs for a bit.

He moved around the streets for about five minutes before he heard a horrible choking sound. It reminded Bucky of someone being strangled and then he was running towards the sound, desperate to help. When he got there he saw a child who couldn’t have been younger than 15 kneeling over coughing up bread. 

“You good there, kid?” He asked

The Kid jumped and fell over, clearly terrified. Bucky reached out a hand, his _flesh_ hand and helped the child up. He brushed himself down and then stared at Bucky for a solid ten seconds. 

Although Bucky did the exact same thing. The Kid was tiny. He was skinny and short and looked half starved. Bucky was reminded of another tiny, blonde kid, this one with blood running down his face and had the sudden urge to protect the Kid that was in front of him now. 

He pushed away the notion, hoping to analyse it futher later but it would do no good to start thinking about his past now. 

Especially with the state the Kid was in. His clothes were dirty, too big and ripped. His hair was long, dirty and messy. His shoes looked too small, were splitting at the seams and were, you guessed it, dirty. 

His earlier question felt even more important now, _was_ the kid good?

Bucky held out a hand, “I’m Bucky, sorry for scaring you,”

The Kid looked confused for a moment zoning back into the situation. He sheepishly said, “Peter, and um... don’t worry about it,” he laughed nervously and avoided eye contact and Bucky decided right then that he was going to protect this child from the horrors of the world. 

_________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They’ve met! And Peter’s already managed to embarrass himself...
> 
> \- -
> 
> This is my first Fanfiction :)  
> So...  
> Thought?  
> Suggestions?  
> Hate?  
> Mistakes?  
> Leave it in the comments!  
> Thanks <3


	3. Chapter 3

Bucky, upon seeing how skinny Peter was, immediately dragged him towards the nearest café to buy him ’ _Whatever the hell you want kid’_ and Peter had gratefully accepted because how could anyone ever reject free food?

So now they were sitting in the corner of the café with four sandwiches, two milkshakes, an orange juice, a coffee and two bags of crisps. 

 Peter ate fast enough for Bucky to believe that he wasn't even swallowing. Bucky ate slowly, picking at his food. Since he’d gotten out of his mind-control, he’d been experiencing the 21st century. He hated it. 

He couldn't understand how people could live in this world. The food is completely sugar, the Internet makes no sense, the language is confusing and stupid. The issues they had back in the day were mainly still plaguing America today. And if he thought anymore he’d end up screaming so he decided to watch The Kid.  

The Kid could eat so much. He was a tiny blonde kid that just inhaled food. God, he was tiny. He looked almost sickly. Bucky suddenly had a thought of another small, sickly, blonde kid with a need to help others and a chip the size of a mountain on his shoulder. Although he was glad for the possible memory he quickly pushed it away for later inspection.

Instead, he studied the child in front of him. And he was just a child. He couldn’t have been any older than 17 and that was being generous. He had long hair that seemed to not have been cut in months. He was dirty, his clothes were torn and frayed and he was half-starved. He eyed everything suspiciously and protected his food and a near-broken backpack by swinging an arm around his lunch and keeping a hold on his bag.

He was definitely homeless, that much was clear, but Bucky didn’t know what to do with this information.He was young which meant that Bucky should call some kind of helpline for homeless children but he also didn’t know the situation The Kid was in. Then again, any kind of abuse could’ve just been reported. Unless he was a runaway. Which seemed very likely.

“Why the long face, Man?”

Peter had been staring at the goth-addicted-to-steroids for about 10 minutes whilst he gobbled up his food like it was his last meal. In a way, Peter supposed it might be since he had no idea when his next meal would be. But anyway, the scary-metal-arm-dude had been glaring angrily at his milkshake, slowly seeming to get more and more angry. So Peter, naturally, had decided to open his mouth and talk to the terrifying-muscled-serial-killer-looking man.

With one of the most terrible sentences possibly ever uttered.

“Why the long face, man?”

The Kid grinned at him for a split second before his face contorted with complete horror.

“I-uh I don’t t-think you h-have a long fa-face though, um, sir... I just m-meant to ask why you looked s-s-so angry. nOt t-that I- I think y-you look ang-angry b-but I just... I don't k-know? Like, uh, you've got a- a metal arm. Which, don't get me wrong, is so awesome but it's also suuuper scary and oh... And now you look ever more annoyed... I should shut up huh? Yeah, good plan, I'll just, uh, be quiet,”

”Are you sure you're capable?”

The Kid who had been, just moments before, absolutely terrified, laughed and said,

”People always ask me that! I’m pretty sure the answers a solid no but I do try. I mean once, my friends timed me and I lasted a whole 7 minutes which means I’m definitely capable but Ned said it didn’t count but I disagree strongly... disagreed I suppose. Ha... ha,”

The Kid trailed off, laughing uncomfortably and looking at everything else but Bucky.

He’d changed the word into the past tense, Bucky noted, implying that they weren’t friends anymore. Which was to be expected since The Kid was homeless and it would be hard to have company without them calling the police or homelessness helped charity type things. Sort of like what Bucky supposed he should be doing. But wasn't.

He wondered what that said about him when The Kid introduced himself.

”I'm, uh, Peter, by the way. Thanks for the food and, uh, earlier... Y’know, when you um frightened me... Into not choking? Ha ha...”

”You’re welcome, Peter. My... friends call me Bucky.”

But _were_ the Avengers even his friends? He didn't remember the one guy who was supposed to be his bestie and the rest of the team all seemed to either hate him or keep their distance. The Kid- Peter - interrupted again.

”Bucky... that's an interesting name. Is it short for something or a nickname?”

”Oh, yeah, its a nickname. My real name is James but I... uh, I've not really felt comfortable being called that. So, Y’know...”

 _Well done, Peter, you've made him uncomfortable. That's great, really, freak out the guy who brought you food and is the first person to have a conversation with you. God, you should just stop opening your mouth and be a normal human for once._

”So, where do you live Peter?”

Peter couldn't tell if the guy was serious. He was so painfully, obviously homeless. But if Bucky was really serious then it would be much better to pretend, otherwise, he might call someone and that wouldn't be good for anyone... especially Brooklyn, that needed Spider-Man. 

Peter couldn't risk it if Bucky was being serious. And if he knew... well, he couldn't prove anything without evidence. 

”Oh, just... around,”

_Perfect, Peter, doesn't sound suspicious at all._  


Bucky frowned. Peter was clearly lying and he should  _not_ have led with that question. 

But now he was worried. Because if Peter was lying that meant any remaining hope of him possibly having a home somewhere were shattered. And it made Bucky want to help him so much more. 

____________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooo! They've may and had a conversation (I think you could call it that?)
> 
> \- -
> 
> This is my first Fanfiction :)  
> So...  
> Thought?  
> Suggestions?  
> Hate?  
> Mistakes?  
> Leave it in the comments!  
> Thanks <3


	4. Chapter 4

Steve was going to start hyperventilating. Bucky had just... left. And Steve really doesn't think he could handle being outside with all the possible triggers to panic attacks or even the off chance of somehow being spotted and recognised.  _That_ would not be good! 

_What if hydra found him through some dumb kid putting him on a social media_

Steve wanted him - needed - him to be safe and out of any trouble that could find him. He was sitting at this stupid conference table, internally spiralling and outwardly tapping frantically on the table just to attempt to distract himself from the tightening of his stomach and his increasing inability to breathe. 

”You good there, Rogers?”, Natasha asked. 

He barely even knew how he was able to answer coherently with a quick, ”Yes.”

His eyes flickered down to the new mission that was written in a plain grey folder. It was another dumb government ordered something-or-other about another dumb person doing something-or-other that is considered bad.

Tony was up and talking through every detail of another bad guys base using one of his hologram-y things. Honestly, Steve was sure the only reason they had the paper copies was because of his inability to use any of the dumb machinery of this dumb century. Or he was just the dumb one. That was probably it. Probably why Bucky had legged it from him too. Maybe. Hopefully not. But...

\--

 Bucky, on the other hand, was busy wondering if he could sneak Peter into the Avenger's tower without anyone noticing  _and_ without the 'JARVIS' informing Stark. He had come to a no which was far more disappointing than he had expected to feel about a kid he'd met about an hour ago. Who knows why? The kid was pretty nice company although Bucky had stopped being a good judge of that a long time ago. He also didn't appear to recognise him which made a nice change from the constant stares he got from anyone who'd taken a casual glance at the news in the past month or so.

He knew he would need to get back to the tower soon. Steve's meeting would be finishing and then he'd send out a search party to look for Bucky and no one should have to deal with a panicked Steve. The thing was, though, he just really didn't want to leave Peter to deal with living on the streets on his own. He also knew that it would be far too creepy for him to offer Peter to come and stay with him - a man he'd just met - but perhaps he'd manage to get back and bring some food. He sighed and considered, not for the first time during this short meeting, why he cared so much about some random homeless kid. Peter wasn't his responsibility and e saw people on the streets every day, he never felt the need to rescue them so why was he feeling so desperate to defend him.

\--

 Peter could see Bucky getting uncomfortable and looking for an exit. It was almost pitiful how desperate Bucky was to get away from him, although maybe Peter was projecting (just a tad) - stranger danger and all that.

So yeah, Peter was maybe,  _maybe,_ looking for a way out. He appreciated the food and the company and Bucky not calling the police or some other organisation to tell them about the 16 year old child living on the streets, but it wasn't like Bucky could do anything for him so it was probably best to get out now so he couldn't leave him in the future. 

So yeah,   _okay,_ he was looking for an exit out of this meal so he wouldn't have to get attached to the first guy to have shown him kindness in a long time. He shifted in his seat and decided it would probably just be easier to rip the band-aid off and run away while he still felt like he had the will power.

"So, Bucky, this... this has been great - amazing really - but I should be heading off,"

Bucky glanced over at Peter, blinking slowly before he nodded, and said "Sure thing, kid," 

He then proceeded to send Peter a frown and glare at his food. And now Peter was conflicted because Bucky didn't even seem to want him to leave... but it wasn't like he could house him or anything. He was probably just guilty or something stupid so really peter should just leave now and stop causing him all this hassle because it clearly wasn't helping anyone and Bucky didn't even want him around he'd just helped him out of pity or something. The guy had just heard someone choking on a stupid sandwich and now had been dragged into Peter's stupid life and before he'd even registered his own movement Peter was out of the door and halfway down the street, ducking into an alley and hopping over a fence to get away from stupid Bucky and his stupid - amazing - food.

 --

Bucky watched Peter leg it out of the cafe and down the street. He began to wonder how long Peter had been desperate to leave before noticing the backpack that had been left on the floor under the table. Peter's backpack. It wouldn't have been a huge issue if it had been anyone else. But it was Peter. The almost definitely homeless kid whose entire life could be in this one bag and who Bucky had no way of contacting or maybe even finding ever again. So now Bucky, too, was standing, grabbing the backpack off the floor and striding over to the cafe's door, ignoring the chime of the bell and the happy waitress calling out a "Thank you!" 

He stood on the street and glanced around. Peter was nowhere in sight. There weren't too many civilians, just a handful and really, Bucky thought he should be able to identify the teenage boy but he was nowhere in sight. He walked up and down the road for a good 10 minutes before giving up. The kid had vanished. _Perhaps_ , Bucky thought,  _I should come back tomorrow and see if I can find him again._  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right...so... its been nearly a yeah huh?  
> sorry... *dodges the rotten fruit being thrown at me*  
> i didn't expect to get so preoccupied and forget about this but coming back to all these really positive comments was so cool and i just had the urge to start writing again.  
> and i know its not perfect but anyways, i hope you enjoyed this mediocre chapter :/  
> i will try to post more frequently but i think you shouldn't be too surprised if it takes another six months...
> 
> \- -
> 
> This is my first Fanfiction :)  
> So...  
> Thought?  
> Suggestions?  
> Hate?  
> Mistakes?  
> Leave it in the comments!  
> Thanks <3


End file.
